William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies: Ralph Character Analysis

The character Ralph is realistic, independent and civil in this novel. In The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. Ralph must do many things for his own survival and the survival of the other boys on the island. I think the obstacles he has to overcome make up his character throughout the book. A character’s personality can be changed when he/she is put in certain positions, such as when Jack’s group was hunting for him, Ralph had to choose between survival and being civil.

Ralph’s character is very realistic in this book. He’s always the one to bring reality to the island when it is greatly needed for the boys. For example, he was the only boy who believed that his father would find him and they would eventually be rescued. This is realistic because he knew that people would find out the plane crashed and come looking for them. Another important factor is that he didn’t believe in the beast. Ralph knew there’s no such thing as a beast and that it didn’t exist. He realized that there had to be a sensible reason for the boys to believe that there was a beast living in the forest. Ralph also knew certain things must be done for them to survive on the island without adults, like building shelters, keeping clean, and having a set leadership and government. The other boys didn’t think logically about what needed to get completed every day in order for everyone to live a somewhat reasonable life.

Besides being realistic, Ralph is a very independent person in this novel. He demonstrates his independence in many parts of the Lord of the Flies which shows how self-sufficient Ralph really is. One example that proves his independence is when he is the first boy to step up to become leader. Even though Piggy was the boy to put him in that position, Ralph already had his mind set on his leadership role and what he wanted to get accomplished. This proves he is self-sufficient because he immediately knew what rules to make up without other people telling him what to do. Another example is how Ralph doesn’t choose to become barbaric and join in with the hysteria of Jack’s tribe. For the most part he stayed on his own side even when he was the only person left in his group. He doesn’t get involved with the original bloodlust of the boys injuring Rodger because he knows it is wrong and savage-like. He also doesn’t join Jack’s tribe when everyone else is convinced to, Ralph sticks to his original plan without his friends and stays by himself. This shows he doesn’t usually give in to peer pressure and can survive on his own rules.

Most importantly, Ralph was a very civil person. He knew what was right and what was wrong. As the first leader, he set civil rules to live on the island. These rules were the basic rules for living on their own and getting along. He decided that the person talking must be holding the conch; this made everyone calm so only one person could talk at a time and there was no chaos. Unlike many other characters, Ralph was nice and helpful to the younger children and didn’t beat them or act savagely towards them. This demonstrates his civilized character by proving he always tried to do the right thing. He also attempted to make sure everything was completed, like building the shelters and keeping a signal fire to increase the chance of getting rescued. These rules kept the boys civilized until their animal instincts took over and Ralph couldn’t do anything to stop them.